Glam Rock fans are the finest, most unparalled Rock N Roll connoisseurs in the world bar-none. You know real kick-ass in your face slam bang electric hard metal heavy voltage music RIGHT NOW~ This is your rockin’ DJ Steph with another high-powered episode of the Glamour Rockin’ Podcast that will leave you speechless. That’s right, better go see the doctor cause you will not even be able to get the words out to describe the matchless Glam Metal lineup today.

In this “ACE” podcast you will hear:

DOKKEN “Unchain the Night” “Its Not Love” and “Don’t Lie to Me”

KIX “Get It While Its Hot” “No Ring Around Rosie” and “Cold Blood”

BRITNY FOX “Girlschool” “Livin’ On the Edge” and “Hair of the Dog”

ROCK ON! Get out the leather, whips and chains, let the dogs out whatever cause HERE WE GO!

Hey all you Glamour Rock Podcast loyal fans! Here it is! Another absolutely incredible selection of some of the best HIGH VOLTAGE Glam Metal Rock songs that will have you on an unreal journey in the space between your ears! YEAH! TURN IT UP okay? This music sounds best LOUD!

L.A. Guns is an American hard-rock, glam metal rock (aka “sleaze”) from Los Angeles,California formed in 1983. According to Blabbermouth.net, Tracii Guns started L.A. Guns while still in high school in 1982. The original singer, Michael Jagosz, was replaced by Axl Rose, [who, as most Glamour Rock fans know, went on to become lead singer of Guns ‘N Roses with outstanding guitarist Slash]. Signed to PolyGram in ’87, the band’s self-titled debut, L.A. Guns [with Phil Lewis replacing Rose] sold over a million copies, as did Cocked and Loaded (1989) and Hollywood Vampires (1991). Tracii Guns’ L.A. GUNS is not to be confused with the Phil Lewis-led version of the group, which is continuing to record and perform under the L.A. Guns moniker to this day.

The history of LA Guns over the years has been extensive and confusing, because, unbelievably, Wikipedia lists a total of 25 musicians who have at one time or another been a part of LA Guns! (For this band history and the background information, see Wikipedia) Here are the most famous of those musicians, and their current band affiliations: Axl Rose (now lead singer of Guns N Roses), Tracii Guns (who also formed the original Hollywood Rose, as well as Brides of Destruction and Contraband), Paul Black (Faster Pussycat), Nickey Alexander (Faster Pussycat), Mick Cripps (Faster Pussycat), Steve Riley (WASP), Joe Lester (Bang Tango), Jizzy Pearl (Love/Hate), Jeremy Guns (Quiet Riot), Marty Casey (Lovehammers), and the list goes on! Holy Friggin’ Crap! Here is the essential nucleus points to “take away”: In 1985, Tracii Guns and Axl Rose decided to merge their groups LA Guns and Hollywood Rose to form the band Guns ‘N Roses. Rose named the band Guns N’ Roses, combining the two names of the bands with the lineup featuring Axl Rose on vocals, Tracii on lead guitar, Izzy Stradlin on rhythm guitar, Ole Beich on bass and Rob Gardner on drums.[12] Tracii had been trying to recruit Rose and Stradlin into a group before however, Tracii, as well as the other former L.A. Guns members Ole Beich and Rob Gardner, departed the group replaced by Slash, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler.[13](Wikipedia)

The debut album L.A. Guns, released in 1988 via Polygram records, peaked at number 50 on Billboard 2000, and included songs “No Mercy”, “Sex Action”, “Nothing to Lose”, “Bitch is Back” and “One Way Ticket”. The L.A. Guns 1989 album titled Cocked and Loaded, peaked at number 38 on Billboard 200 with the single “Ballad of Jayne” cresting at # 25 on the mainstream rock chart. The album went on to become certified Gold and Platinum. L.A. Guns released their third album Hollywood Vampires in 1991, which culminated at slot # 42 on Billboard 200. Their singles, “Kiss My Love Goodbye” and “Its Over Now” hit # 16 and #75 on the mainstream rock chart. Drummer Riley was fired from the band in 1992 following the band’s tour of Europe with Skid Row. However, drummer Steve Riley is currently with Phil Lewis’ version of LAG. The band released their fourth album Vicious Circle in 1995 with the album failing to chart. Polygram dropped the band after Vicious Circle went up in smoke. The band also recorded the Pantera-influenced album American Hardcore in 1996 via CMC International which also hit the skids –not landing on any chart.

L.A. Guns then went through a “renaissance” period where the original lineup reunited and released several successful albums from the years 1999-2002, according to Wikipedia. This cast of original band members saw the return of: Phil Lewis (vocals), Tracii Guns (guitar), Mick Cripps (guitar), Kelly Nichols (bass guitar), and Steve Riley (drums). A compilation of re-recorded songs and new material titled Greatest Hits and Black Beauties was released in the summer of 1999. A live album was also recorded on October 7, 1999 at the Key Club on the Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California on the label Cleopatra Records Live: A Night at the Strip. Songs on this live album included “Face Down”, “Sex Action”, Electric Gypsy”, “Rip N Tear” and “One More Reason”. The band began recording new material with producer Andy Johns in 2002 with the group scheduled to tour with Alice Cooper later in the year. The L.A. Guns album Waking the Dead came out to positive reviews with songs “Don’t Look at Me that Way”, “Waking the Dead”, “Hellraiser’s Ball”, and “City of Angels” on the Spitfire label. This included Phil Lewis on vocals, Tracii Guns on guitar, Adam Hamilton on bass guitar, and Steve Riley on drums. L.A.Guns began touring with Warrant, Ratt, Dokken, and Firehouse that year as part of the Rock Fest Tour. The seminal event in 2002, however, was the departure of Tracii Guns, as well as L.A.Guns involvement in a project with Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx in a band named Cockstar.

What follows is an interview and press release from that time period, via KNAC.com and an interview with contributor Mick Stingley on 3/9/03 following an L.A. Guns show in Brooklyn:

“It is the day after the infamous club fire in my native Rhode Island. The Great White show at “The Station” is the top story on every majornews outlet, and the subject of concern for more than a few peoplein attendance this evening. I mention this because it bears mentioning.This interview was set up only a few days prior for me, as a “representative”of KNAC.COM — but I had been to “The Station” many times… I knewwell the club’s small size, I have seen a few bands there… it is as muchin the back of my head this night as anyone’s…

L’Amour is a famous, well-maintained rock club deep in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, New York. It is the pre-eminent venue for metal lovers in the Five Boroughs, and upon walking inside I note instantly the presence of red “EXIT” signs and sprinklers on the ceiling. I make my way to the bar, and hear the subject of the fire bandied about the rock crowd as I pass by rockers male and female, young and old. It is a horrible, frightening tragedy: Yet the turnout is strong for LA Guns… After the band takes the stage at 1:30AM, they are only one song in when Phil Lewis addresses the crowd… a quiet, poignant nod to the previousnight’s events. He offers up hopes and prayers for the victims and theirfamilies, and dedicates the evening to the crowd who came out to seethe rock music they love – tonight — and for the people who lost their lives in Rhode Island. After the show, I will be turning on my tape recorder and chattingwith LA Guns. They are on their first tour without founding memberand namesake Tracii Guns, who is working on a project with Nikki Sixx. I had my doubts about what the show would be like,but with the addition of guitar-slinger Kerri Kelli,and Faster Pussycat’s Brent Muscat — I was pleasantly surprised.I have forsaken a show review and attention to set listin favor of just enjoying the music over a beer.However, their set included a few tracks from the great, recent Spitfire release,Waking The Dead, as well as concert staples “Sex Action,”“Ballad Of Jayne,” “Rip N Tear,” plus some long missed favorites –“Long Time Dead,” “Kiss My Love Goodbye,” and the great,under-rated “Beautiful” from Man In The Moon. After the show, the whole band comes out to chat, meet, greet,sign autographs and shake hands with their fans. I make my way backstage tomeet up with Brad Nelson, their tour manager, and get situatedfor what was to be a brief interview with Phil, and maybe Steve.Pretty much, prior to the tragedy in Rhode Island, I had wantedto discuss the departure of Tracii, and the resulting changes.Mr. Nelson kindly assembled the entire group, and I realized theneed to be extemporaneous and include each member’s input –as the five men who make up LA Guns stood around me in a huddle,and I turned on my tape-recorder, the ease and charm of this companyof players made me mindful of the fact that, whatever lineupchanges they have undergone, whatever struggles they faceas a touring group in a descendant genre of rock music, and, touched as they were by the previous night’s events — once thing remainsclear and unshakeable — LA GUNS IS A BAND.” – See more at: http://knaclive.com/article.asp?ArticleID=1836&StartTime=3%2F10%2F2003+8%3A30%3A45+AM#sthash.8QyXiV3t.dpuf

Here now are three important elements to this article: Condensed Timeline of Key Events, link to the interview where Tracii Guns announced his departure, and upcoming L.A. Guns Concert dates for 2013:

Condensed Timeline of Key Events from 2003-2012

2003 Recruitment of Stacey Blades to the group

2004 Release of cover album Rips the Covers Off

2005 Release of Tales from the Strip and Live from Hollywood

2006 Tracii Guns forms Tracii Guns band as well as Brides of Destruction

2007 Tour dates announced to support Tales from the Strip

2012 Tracii Guns announces he is finished with his version of L.A. Guns

Link to Tracii Guns interview where announcement of departure is made:

Van Halen is primarily an American hard rock band with roots in the Netherlands (the original birthplace of the Van Halen brothers, Alex and Eddie Van Halen, being Nijmegan, Netherlands), heavy metal guitar rock riffs and hooks, with coincident Glam Rock music status, “spotlight on” the flamboyance and over-the-top hypersexuality of lead singer David Lee Roth. The main focal point of the band’s overwhelming popularity has been the guitar virtuosity of Eddie Van Halen, mixed with the onstage antics and attractiveness of David Lee Roth. The 1978 debut album of the band, entitled Van Halen, is widely regarded as one of the music albums that changed the course of rock music history, leading the way for the music genre of heavy metal to evolve in upcoming decades. (For this and more band history, see Wikipedia.) The band members at that time, at the group’s inception were: Eddie Van Halen (lead guitarist), David Lee Roth (lead vocals), Alex Van Halen (drums), and Michael Anthony (bassist).

The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), has listed Van Halen as the 19th best-selling band/artist in United States history, with sales of over 56 million albums in the U.S. and over 86 million albums worldwide. Also, Van Halen is only one of five rock groups that have had two albums sell more than 10 million albums each.

Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen are the sons of musician Jan Van Halen, who arranged for them to have music lessons. The Van Halen brothers started playing music together in the 1960s, with interestingly, Eddie playing piano and drums and Alex playing guitar! One day when Eddie found out that Alex had been playing his drums, Eddie decided, out of frustration, to start playing Alex’s guitar: youthful beginnings to the foundation of astounding guitar musicianship to come in the form of Eddie Van Halen’s heavy metal style, most definitely an innovator for all time.

In 1972,in California, the Van Halen brothers formed a group named “Genesis” while renting a sound system from David Lee Roth in the process. In order to save money on renting the sound system, the brothers decided to offer Lee Roth lead vocals in a bartering deal, to which then led to David Lee Roth becoming a permanent part of the band. By 1974, the rock group decided to replace then bassist Mark Stone with Michael Anthony, who was then performing in a band called “Snake.” The band later changed their name to “Mammouth” after finding out that there was already another band with the name “Genesis.” The name “Van Halen” for the band was introduced by David Lee Roth, who thought the name suggested power. The band Van Halen started playing at parties and other local gigs around Hollywood and Pasadena, California, while also passing out flyers to their gigs to local high schools in the Hollywood, California area. This garnered the band a huge following and from that, Van Halen started to establish themselves as headliners at mainstream L.A. nightclubs of the 1970s, including the famous Whisky a GoGo.

Van Halen recorded their first demo tape at Cherokee Studios (now defunct), also the recording studio for Steely Dan at the time. Van Halen’s career began to intensify when the famous rock music impresario Rodney Bingenheimer checked out the band at the L.A. club Gazzari in the summer of 1976, and being quite impressed took Gene Simmons of KISS to see them. Gene Simmons then produced a demo tape in New York, presented them to his managers, but being told “no chance whatsoever”, he discontinued further involvement with the fledgling group. (See Wikipedia) Van Halen’s pursuit of the “Rock N Roll dream” began to heat up even more when two Warner Brothers’ record executives (Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman) saw Van Halen perform at the Starwood in Hollywood; the execs were so dazzled that they offered the band an extensive recording contract within a week. Upon its’ release, the debut album Van Halen reached number 19 on the Billboard pop music charts, one of rock’s most commercially successful inaugurations. The album contained these classic songs by Van Halen, “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Eruption”-showcasing Eddie Van Halen’s guitar mastery.

The band returned to the studio in 1978 to record Van Halen II, which resulted in the band’s first hit single “Dance the Night Away.” Over the next album, Van Halen was prolific with album releases and touring: Their Women and Children (1980), Fair Warning (1981), Diver Down (1982), and then the pinnacle of their career, Van Halen’s 1984 (1984) , which showcased such monster hits as “Panama”, “Jump”, “I’ll Wait”, and “Hot for Teacher.” The album generated three music videos on MTV and debuted at number 2 on the Billboard chart’s, behind Michael Jackson‘s Thriller. The album, although a huge profit-maker, was also a breaking-point for the band! The ginormous egos of the band’s two massive stars, Eddie Van Halen, and David Lee Roth, had had several explosive tangles in the past, but now their differences were at fast forward fury. Lee Roth reportedly was upset about Eddie playing outside the band without the other members’ permission and Eddie’s drug abuse (alleged) that prevented certain viable practice sessions. Eddie was sick of Roth’s flamboyant stage behavior and at times ridiculous antics, and both differed in their view of the band’s image/direction for the future.

During this time in 1985, Eddie Van Halen, as the group’s leader, began to look around for lead singers to replace David Lee Roth. He invited Patti Smyth of Scandal to replace Lee Roth but she refused. Eddie was then introduced to another singer, Sammy Hagar, who he knew from a mutual auto mechanic. Drumroll please as we are now entering the crucial phase of the endless debate amongst Van Halen fans of which singer is better: David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar?HA Visit any Youtube page of Van Halen music videos and fans are still debating this to this day. Sammy Hagar had had a hit with Warner records with “I Can’t Drive 55”, had an album with Montrose, and agreed to join the band, also adding his skills as rhythm guitarist to deepen the sound. The 1986 album 5150 (named after the address for Eddie Van Halen’s studio) was a success, with keyboard-driven singles such as “Why Can’t This Be Love”, “Dreams”, and “Love Walks In.” A new Van Halen logo was added to the album art, symbolizing the band changes. The band had many more triumphant studio albums during the reign of Sammy Hagar, which lasted until 1996. It was in the Hagar era that Van Halen was nominated for two Grammy awards, winning an award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1992. Success often breeds discontent amongst stars, and because of disputes between Hagar and Eddie Van Halen, Hagar’s career as lead singer ended in 1996. Hagar claimed he was fired; Van Halen said that he quit. Overall, it was a technicality of sorts, because the Van Halen band members had been secretly recording tracks with David Lee Roth again, which led Hagar to quit/be fired.

There is further detailed and extensive history on this ground-breaking band. (See Wikipedia for more information and citations). On March 12, 2007, Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and were introduced by Velvet Revolver. Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar were the only members (both ex-members at that time) in attendance. In 2012, Van Halen released A Different Kind of Truth -their first album in 14 years (since 1998’s Van Halen III). It is the first Van Halen album to feature Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang on bass ( and still in high school!) in place of Michael Anthony. It is also the first album to feature David Lee Roth’s vocals in over 15 years. Van Halen announced a tour to support the album, from 2012 to 2013. The Van Halen News Desk reports that Guitar World named A Different Kind of Truth as the #1 album of the year (for 2012) and Rolling Stone named “Stay Frosty” in their “50 best songs” (of 2012). Keep up with the mighty Van Halen at http://www.vhnd.com!

Slade is a Glam Rock/Hard Rock band that was formed in 1966, who had major success in the 70s and 80s with pop rock lyrics, stage costuming, defiant attitudes, and vocal mastery. The group consisted of Noddy Holder (lead vocals and guitar), Dave Hill (lead guitar), Jim Lea (bass guitar), and Don Powell (drums). This Glam Rock band originally started out as “N’Betweens”, changed their name to “Ambrose Slade” and then just “Slade”. In the late 1960s, they connected with manager Chas Chandler, who had been bassist for the 60s rock group, The Animals, and is also credited with discovering Jimi Hendrix. According to Wikipedia, Slade had a veritable number of hits in the U.K., outperforming other Glam rock artists such as Wizzard, Sweet, T-Rex, Suzi Quatro, Smokie and even David Bowie. In the U.K., they had 12 top five hits from 1971 to 1974 and 17 top twenty hits between 1971 and 1976. According to Wikipedia, no other U.K. group had such consistency of hits, and Slade came closest to The Beatles’ record of 22 Top Ten hits in a single decade. Origins of Slade are that in 1964 drummer Don Powell and guitarist Dave Hill were part of a group called “The Vendors”; Noddy Holder was part of a group called “Steve Brett and the Mavericks”. The groups met at “The Trumpet” house in Bilston, England and formed the group that ultimately became Slade. Chas Chandler is cited as the link that helped Ambrose Slade become a success, by advising them to write their own songs. The name was also changed from “Ambrose Slade” to “The Slade” and then just “Slade”. The name “Ambrose Slade” came from one of the record company’s (Phillips Records in London) secretaries who had the habit of naming her apparel; she had named her handbag “Ambrose” and her shoes “Slade”!

The first album that Slade released was Play It Loud. What occurred next was that Chandler managed the group for two years without commercial success; simultaneously, the band began to grow their hair long, adding glitter to their performances, in time to become one of the leaders of Glam Rock beginnings in the 1970s (see Wikipedia and YouTube videos “Top of the Pops”). Chas Chandler began making specific song suggestions to the band, and requested “Get Down and Get With It”, originally performed by American artist Little Richard. Lea and Holder penned their first song together, “Coz I Luv You” and this established the writing partnership that would continue through the band’s history. Also, as hard as it is to believe now, the purposeful misspellings that the band utilized in their song hits, “Look Wot You Dun” (1972), “Gudby T’Jane” (1972), “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” (1972), and “Cum on Feel the Noise” (1973) caused a furor among British schoolteachers who thought it would lead youth astray!

Chas Chandler decided the band should record a live album and booked Slade for three consecutive nights at Piccadilly, which resulted in Slade Alive, (1972) regarded as one of the greatest live albums ever. (For this and information to follow, see Wikipedia). In 1973, “Cum on Feel the Noise” went straight to #1 on the first week of release, an event not accomplished since The Beatles. Drummer Don Powell was critically injured in a car crash in 1973, and his 20y.o. girlfriend Angela Morris was killed. Powell recovered and rejoined the band weeks later in New York to record “Merry Xmas Everybody”. Powell still suffers from short-term memory loss and sensory problems.

Slade’s popularity began to wane in the late 70s, as the band attempted to break into the American music scene, constantly touring with American rock groups Aerosmith, ZZ Top, and Black Sabbath. The album Nobody’s Fool was released in 1976 and failed to make an impact. Meanwhile, U.K. fans felt deserted, and accused the band of selling out. Slade began to make a comeback in the late 1980s when they were asked to fill in for Ozzy Osbourne, who cancelled his set at The Reading Festival. Slade became the smash success of the rock festival and were able to use this to revitalize their dormant music career. Slade found a new audience of heavy metal fans and had success with the album We’ll Bring Down the House (1981) and Keep Your Hands off my Power Supply (1984). In late 1983, American glam metal band Quiet Riot recorded a cover of “Cum on Feel the Noise”, which catapulted Quiet Riot to fame. Slade still records and tours today, but their last huge-selling album was You Boyz Make Big Noise. Watch the video of this stellar band, and revisit this page to hear the next Podcast, featuring Slade, the New York Dolls, and Quiet Riot.

https://glamrockstar.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/stephpodcast7b_mixdown.mp3On this page, you will find a list of the Glam Rock podcasts that will be made available for your listening enjoyment! I am affiliated with the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Orlando, Florida and my moniker is “DJ Steph”. It is my pleasure to bring you these weekly podcasts of Glamour Rock favorites, which you can listen to for FREE on your computer. Each podcast will contain about 30 minutes worth of nothing but Classic Glamour Rock Music, with NO INTERRUPTION, NO COMMERCIALS EVER! Come back to this page frequently for the latest podcast.